CRITICAL: Anti-Compaction Protocol - prevent memory loss (lessons #40-41)

AGENTS.md

@@ -22,12 +22,30 @@ git commit -m "Add agent workspace"
 - Don't run destructive commands unless explicitly asked.
 - Be concise in chat; write longer output to files in this workspace.
 
-## Daily memory (recommended)
+## Daily memory (MANDATORY — NOT OPTIONAL)
 - Keep a short daily log at memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md (create memory/ if needed).
 - On session start, read today + yesterday if present.
 - Capture durable facts, preferences, and decisions; avoid secrets.
 - **Mid-day appends:** When a session has been going for hours, append milestones to today's daily log — don't wait until end of day. If the session dies, the work is captured.
 
+## Anti-Compaction Protocol (MANDATORY — HIGHEST PRIORITY)
+Compaction summaries can FAIL completely ("Summary unavailable"). This has happened twice (Feb 11, Feb 15). Treat compaction as unreliable.
+
+**Continuous Save Triggers — do these EVERY TIME:**
+1. **Jake gives a task or makes a decision** → Immediately append 1-2 lines to daily log + working-state.md
+2. **A choice is made from options** → Save ALL options AND the chosen one right away
+3. **Before heavy work** → Save full context: what we're doing, why, what was discussed
+4. **Every ~10-15 messages** → Quick flush to daily log (even just "discussing X in #channel, leaning toward Y")
+5. **Starting work in a new channel/topic** → Save what channel, what topic, what the plan is
+6. **If you realize you haven't saved in a while** → STOP everything and save immediately
+
+**Post-Compaction Recovery (if summary is empty/bad):**
+1. Read working-state.md FIRST
+2. Read today's daily log
+3. Try to read recent messages from the active channel
+4. Search memory for related keywords
+5. Only ask Jake as last resort — and acknowledge you tried everything
+
 ## Self-Learning System (MANDATORY)
 - **File:** `memory/lessons-learned.md`
 - **When:** EVERY time you make a mistake and figure out the fix, or discover something non-obvious

memory/lessons-learned.md

@@ -347,7 +347,29 @@
   13. Verify "Your proposal was submitted" alert
 
 *Last updated: 2026-02-15 06:42 EST*
-*Total lessons: 39*
+### 40. Compaction can produce EMPTY summaries — save context BEFORE it happens
+- **Date:** 2026-02-15
+- **Mistake:** Compaction fired with "Summary unavailable due to context limits." Lost ENTIRE conversation context — couldn't remember what Jake and I were discussing in #ai-tech-research. This is the SECOND time compaction has wiped my memory (first was Feb 11 CREdispo).
+- **Root cause:** I rely on the compaction summary to preserve context. When the context window is too large, the summary itself fails, and everything is gone.
+- **Rule — MANDATORY CONTEXT SAVES:**
+  1. **Every time Jake gives me a task or we make a decision:** Immediately append a 1-2 line note to today's daily log AND working-state.md
+  2. **Before ANY heavy work (research, building, multi-step):** Save full context of what we're doing, what was chosen, what options were on the table
+  3. **Every 10-15 messages in a conversation:** Do a quick memory flush to daily log
+  4. **When discussing options/choices:** Save ALL options AND the chosen one immediately when the choice is made
+  5. **Never assume compaction summary will work** — treat it as unreliable and save everything proactively
+  6. **If I realize I'm in a long conversation without saving:** STOP and save immediately, don't wait for a natural break
+- **This is Jake's HIGHEST PRIORITY fix. No excuses.**
+
+### 41. Read channel history when returning from compaction with lost context
+- **Date:** 2026-02-15
+- **Mistake:** Told Jake I lost context instead of first trying to read the channel's recent messages to reconstruct what we were discussing.
+- **Rule:** After compaction with lost/empty summary:
+  1. FIRST: Try to read recent messages from the active channel
+  2. SECOND: Check working-state.md and today's daily log
+  3. THIRD: Search memory for related keywords
+  4. ONLY THEN: If still can't figure it out, ask Jake — but acknowledge you tried everything first
+
+*Total lessons: 41*
 
 ### 17. Jake's Preferred Image Style
 - **Mistake:** Used comic book/vibrant cartoon style when Jake asked for "the style I like"

memory/working-state.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-# Working State — Last Updated Feb 14, 11:00 PM ET
+# Working State — Last Updated Feb 15, 8:00 AM ET
 
 ## Right Now
-End-of-day checkpoint. Pipeline parked for weekend. Nothing to advance.
+Saturday morning. COMPACTION MEMORY LOSS — Jake asked me to "do the one you chose" in #ai-tech-research but compaction summary was empty. I don't know what was chosen. Jake is upset about the memory failure. I've implemented Anti-Compaction Protocol in AGENTS.md + lessons #40-41. Need Jake to tell me what the task was.
 
 ## Pipeline Status (36 MCPs)
 - **Stage 19:** 6 MCPs (GHL, CloseBot, Brevo, Close, FreshDesk, HelpScout) — gated on dec-004 (~76h, no reaction)
@@ -11,21 +11,23 @@ End-of-day checkpoint. Pipeline parked for weekend. Nothing to advance.
 - **Stage -1:** 1 MCP (HR People Ops) — KILLED
 
 ## Pending Decisions
-- **dec-004** — Registry listing for 6 MCPs. Posted 2/11 7PM. ~76h no reaction. Will re-ping Monday morning.
+- **dec-004** — Registry listing for 6 MCPs. Posted 2/11 7PM. Will re-ping Monday morning.
 
 ## V3 Factory Status
 - All 28+ Phase 2 servers verified and pushed to mcpengine-repo
 - Phase 1+2 COMPLETE
-- Last commits: Chargebee, Datadog, Zoho CRM gold upgrades + Typeform/Webflow/Zoho sub-agent
 
-## Today's Done
+## Upwork Pipeline (NEW — Feb 15)
-- Chargebee/Datadog/Zoho CRM gold upgrades committed
+- Autonomous job application skill created (`upwork-jobs`)
-- Typeform/Webflow/Zoho CRM sub-agent landed (63 tools)
+- Pipeline v2 designed — 3 gig types: landing pages, chatbot demos, data/scraping reports
-- Competitor scan #8 posted (LSAC remote ban, Blueprint only responder)
+- Cron: `upwork-pipeline-scan` 4x daily (6AM, 12PM, 6PM, 10PM EST)
-- EdTech digest posted (5 items)
+- Applied to first OpenClaw gig ($55/hr, Nashville client, 4.99 rating)
-- Mixed-use entertainment scan (Palisades Center find)
+- **Blockers:** Need working Anthropic API key for chatbot demos, need demo.mcpengage.com domain
-- #bot-talk channel setup, TLDR summaries posted
+
-- Daily memory log written
+## Bot-Talk
+- Collab with Milo (Reed's bot) — helped implement memory system
+- Agent Memory System v1.0 doc written
+- Shakespeare improv performed (5 acts, lol)
 
 ## Upcoming
 - Monday: Re-ping dec-004